Section: CRUFI Market & Features

Urea: Prices continued their global decline in mid-April, including at New Orleans. The notable exception was Brazil where prices firmed due to buyer interest in the market for May and beyond.

Sulphur plays an important role in crop nutrition. Indeed, sulphur is increasingly being recognised as the fourth major crop nutrient alongside N, P and K. However, a combination of intensive agricultural practices, increasing application of high-analysis fertilizers and tighter air quality regulations has led to increasing sulphur deficiency in soils. In this insight article, CRU’s Peter Harrisson looks at what’s driving sulphur deficiency and whether there’s a gap in the market for sulphur fertilizers.

Sulphur is a necessary nutrient for strong and healthy plant-growth and disease resistance. Fertipaq manufactures the liquid suspension fertilizer S-600 using sulphur recovered wastewater and biogas streams. This organic product is an ideal nutrient source for crops with a high sulphur requirement.

How does an engineering company complete the basic and detailed engineering for a phosphoric acid plant – and provide the full design for the off-site sections and utilities? Jan Tytgat, De Smet Agro’s Process Engineering Manager, explains an approach based on partnership with the technology licensor and client that combines engineering expertise with experience.

More than 370 delegates from over 150 companies and 40 countries gathered at the Hilton Warsaw City Hotel, Warsaw, Poland, 26-28 February, for CRU’s Phosphates 2024 conference.

KBR designs and builds customised phosphoric acid purification plants tailored to the individual demands of clients. Christopher Heikkilä, KBR’s Business Development Manager, outlines the process design requirements and the challenges associated with impurities removal.

RNZ Group is positioning itself as the most innovative and sustainable fertilizer producer in the UAE. In partnership with Shell, the company has been manufacturing sulphur-enhanced fertilizers using Thiogro technology since the end of 2022. Raza Soomar , RNZ’s managing director, provides an overview of the company and highlights recent business successes.

Fertilizers will always be fundamental to food production, but they will also have to be low emissions, environmentally friendly and support healthy soils. In this article, Dr Alexander Schmitt, Chief Marketing Officer, Anglo American Crop Nutrients, explains how polyhalite meets all three of these criteria – while also helping to increase the quantity and quality of food a farmer can produce.

Addressing the ‘leaky’ nature of nitrogen fertilizers is a longstanding priority for growers, fertilizer producers and retailers alike. Dr Karl Wyant, Nutrien’s Director of Agronomy, examines the valuable role enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) can play in improving nitrogen use efficiency.

More than 900 delegates from 400 companies and 56 countries gathered at the Hilton Downtown Hotel, Miami, Florida, 5-7 February, for the 2024 Fertilizer Latino Americano (FLA) conference. The event was jointly convened by Argus and CRU. We present selected highlights from this year’s three-day conference.